Steamer Dove (1868)

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Photo Courtesy of Bowling Green State University, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes

Status: Boat destroyed by fire in 1897.  

The name of this Detroit to Toledo passenger and freight boat, The Dove, provided the Wright Company with inspiration for its interior decoration. In addition to their standard decorative finishes, Wright employees painted numerous doves in flight in the boat’s wheelhouses and on the glass in the ladies’ cabin door. A “beautiful gilt dove . . . encircled by a wreath” was mounted on the top of the pilot house, as if spiriting the ship forward. In a nod to the fact that this was a working vessel, nautical, travel, and commerce-related motifs were also incorporated in the boat’s interior. 

       Sources:     “Additional Lake Craft.” The Detroit Free Press. March 15, 1868.

Status: Boat destroyed by fire in 1895.

Detroit’s position on the United States border meant that the Wright Company had plenty of opportunities to acquire Canadian contracts. In 1886, the Niagara Navigation Co. commissioned a ferry designed to transport tourists from Toronto to the Niagara River. In 1887, it was christened the Cibola (reportedly an Indigenous word for buffalo) and launched at Deseronto, on the north shore of Lake Erie.  The Wright Co. provided its mahogany trim and interior decorations. According to a 1970 article, carpenters were aboard and still finishing the cabins when the boat commenced its first official trip on June 10, 1888.

           Sources: “Launch of the Cibola.” The Daily British Whig. November 2, 1887.

“The Scanner: Monthly News Bulletin of the Toronto Marine Historical Society,” Dec. 1970.

https://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/

Status: Boat ceased operation in 1921, reduced to barge in 1936-1938, scrapped in 1957.

In 1893, the William Wright Co. outfitted the new Michigan-based steamer City of Alpena in the Louis XV style. The 150-stateroom cruiser boasted many luxurious amenities, including electric lights and call buttons, a barber shop, and a specific room for bathing. A newspaper article celebrating the boat’s maiden voyage noted its mahogany trim, Wilton carpet, and olive green and gold color scheme. Four carved ivory panels, representing the four seasons, hung in the Empire-style social hall.

    Sources: “Her First Trip.” Huron Times. July 7, 1893.

Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress

Status: Boat dismantled in 1941.

Over the winter of 1901, the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co. decided to encourage some competition between the William Wright Co. and their Detroit rival, Vinton & Co. They commissioned elegant new hardwood buffets for two of their passenger ferries, the City of Erie and the City of Buffalo. Vinton & Co. provided an ornately carved, dark finished sideboard topped with a mirror that The Buffalo Times called “solid and massive” for the City of Buffalo.  In contrast, the Wright Co. furnished the City of Erie with a light-colored buffet flanked by grill work cabinets and a bar that was “a dream of the carver’s art.”

Sources: “Lake Carriers Give the Engineers Their Ultimation.” The Buffalo Times. April 8, 1901.

Status: Boat destroyed by fire in 1929; hull used as barge from 1933 to 1981, when scrapped.

Though named for the Keystone State, the Pennsylvania was a Detroit ship. Built by the Detroit Dry Dock Co, outfitted with local engines, and decorated by the William Wright Company, this side-wheel steamer provided day passenger and excursion service for the Erie and Buffalo Steamboat Company. Like many of Wright’s nautical commissions, the Pennsylvania’s interior featured mahogany woodwork paired with rich golds, greens, blues, and reds.

“The dining room in the after end of the boat is of the colonial style, finished in ivory enamel and old mahogany, with many mirrors of colonial design placed at the sides of the room. In the forward end of the boat is the grill and drinking room, finished in the Dutch style, with Flemish oak woodwork and brilliant yellow decorations. The bar is appointed with glass and silverware especially designed for the boat,” The Detroit Free Press reported.

           Sources: “Steamer Pennsylvania.” The Detroit Free Press. May 27, 1899.

Image Courtesy of Detroit Historical Society

Status: Boat still exists, docked in New York.

For almost a century, Detroiters escaped the city’s heat and congestion by taking a boat ride to Bois Blanc – or Boblo – Island. The S.S. Columbia, a steel passenger steamer built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. for the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co., was intended for this popular route. The four-deck boat included four cabins and a dining room trimmed in mahogany woodwork and furnished by the William Wright Company.

          Sources: “New Boat for Bois Blanc Route.” The Detroit Free Press. November 27, 1901.

Photo Courtesy of Naval History & Heritage Command

Status: Unknown; Boat sold to U.S. Navy in 1917, used in WWI, sold in 1924.

In addition to hiring the Wright Company to decorate their homes, several of Detroit’s elite families commissioned custom interiors for their private yachts. In the summer of 1914, three Wright Co. employees traveled to Delaware to decorate the newly-built Galatea, owned by industrialist E.L. Ford. This Ford (who made his money in chemicals, glass, and cement) was a member of the Detroit Boat Club and lived in a high-end Tudor Revival home on the coast in Grosse Pointe Shores. Newspaper reports suggest that Ford family inaugurated the Galatea with a cruise along the Atlantic coast. The Galatea was owned and used by the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1921.

           Sources: “Fitting Up Yacht.” The [Wilmington, Delaware] News Journal. July 24, 1914.

“Society.” The Detroit Free Press. July 28, 1914.

            “Succumbs at 66.” The Detroit Free Press. December 21, 1942.

Images Courtesy of Motorboating Magazine and Bowling Green State University, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes

Status: Boat still exists, docked in Detroit.

Grosse Pointe Yacht Club members Helen and Charles Sorensen (the man who designed Henry Ford’s assembly lines) commissioned the Helene, a 146-foot diesel yacht from the Bath Iron Works Corporation in the early days of the Great Depression. Built to accommodate roughly ten passengers and fourteen crewmembers, the yacht was decorated by the William Wright Co. and was featured in Motorboating Magazine.

Like mansions of the day, the Helene’s interiors borrowed heavily from historical English styles. The Georgian period inspired the green and ivory living salon, which was outfitted with teak ceiling beams and diamond-patterned veneers. The Georgian dining salon featured rich gold draperies, a two-tone blue chenille carpet, and walnut trim. In contrast, the Jacobean style library incorporated oak ceiling beams and carved paneling.

        Sources: “Charles E. Sorensen’s Helene.” Motorboating Magazine, October 1931.